TENNESSEE

Mayor: Gatlinburg wildfires caused $500M in damages

Don Jacobs, and Steve Ahillen
Knoxville News Sentinel

GATLINBURG -- Officials at a Tuesday news conference laid out a time line of fighting the wildfires that spread to Gatlinburg, killing 14 people, causing the evacuation of 14,000 and damaging more than 2,400 structures.

At the news conference at City Hall, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters also announced the first estimate on the cost of damages, placing it at $500 million. This is in addition to the cost of $7,289,866 for fighting the Chimney Tops No. 2 wildfire and $347,101 for fighting the Cobbly Nob wildfire.

The fatality count from the Nov. 28 blaze stands at 14 with authorities having identified 13 of the 14 victims. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is pursuing a lead that could help identify the last victim, according to Waters.

City of Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner waits to give a statement during a press conference to give an update on the wildfire, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at Gatlinburg City Hall. Over 2,400 structures were destroyed in the area and 14 people killed after wildfires went through the area on Nov. 28.
City of Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller makes a statement during a press conference to give an update on the wildfire, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at Gatlinburg City Hall. Over 2,400 structures were destroyed in the area and 14 people killed after wildfires went through the area on Nov. 28.
City of Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller, left, takes a question during a press conference to give an update on the wildfire, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at Gatlinburg City Hall. Over 2,400 structures were destroyed in the area and 14 people killed after wildfires went through the area on Nov. 28.
Sevier County mayor Larry Waters gives a statement during a press conference to give an update on the wildfire Dec. 13, 2016, at Gatlinburg City Hall. Over 2,400 structures were destroyed in the area and 14 people killed after wildfires went through the area on Nov. 28.

"They (investigators) feel that the lead and the person not identified are the same person," Waters said.

Much of the press conference involved explaining at length the handling of the fire, that started as a one-and-one-half-acre blaze on Chimney Tops in the National Park on Nov. 23. That's slightly more than the size of a football field, including the end zones. Five days later, the blaze evolved into a firestorm that burned more than 17,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 2,460 structures.

See also: Media presentation on Chimney Tops fire

"I stand behind the men and women who made critical decisions throughout the history of this fire," said Cassius Cash, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "I have no doubt the decisions they made saved thousands of lives."

Cash said an outside review would be undertaken on the park's handling of the wildfires, but added that he has confidence in the National Park Service staff.

Clay Jordan, park deputy superintendent, explained the time line that led up to the disaster, emphasizing the nature of the fire and the rocky terrain where it was located made it impossible to safely treat the fire any way but how it was treated, then explained the steps that were taken along the way.

"I want to emphasize two things: First, we believe there was no way to have controlled the fire prior to the wind event," Jordan said. "Second, the reality is we believe no amount of firefighters or fire engines could have stopped this fire under such extreme wind conditions."

He indicated that part of the problem was a weather report that proved inaccurate in predicting both the time and the velocity of the wind that came Monday night and greatly escalated the blaze.

Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller reiterated that emergency officials' efforts to evacuate the city were hampered by widespread power outages and cell towers going down. Miller was the incident commander in charge of decisions and deployment of resources throughout the disaster.

Miller said many residents resisted evacuating and some refused, as emergency responders went door to door to warn residents of the danger. The chief said fires erupted across Gatlinburg from 5:45 to 6:06 p.m.

Miller said Sevier County Emergency Management Agency Director John Mathews' made a cellphone call to the Nashville Emergency Operations Center that the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency operates to announce the area was to be evacuated. TEMA tried to reconnect with Mathews at 8:40 p.m., Miller said, but couldn't reach him due to two Verizon cell towers failing, so TEMA could not send the message because the verbiage was not approved as required by policy.

Mathews had told the News Sentinel he had alerted TEMA but could not remember who, exactly, he had talked to, or how he had alerted them.

No evacuation alert ordering a mandatory evacuation was sent to mobile devices because of the 8:40 p.m. breakdown in communications.

Several officials said there would be a review process of how the fire was handled.

"Right now we are in the recovery stage," Waters said. "When that recovery stage in completed, all the agencies involved ... will evaluate what they did right and what they could have done better."

Waters took issue with the protocol on ordering an evacuation.

"Even the state law needs to be evaluated," he said. "The law specifically says that the county mayor can't order an evacuation. I don't understand that being in there. You can't participate in it."

He said Miller, the incident commander on the scene, is the one empowered to order an evacuation.

Miller, at the news conference, said a fire model was used and it appeared the fire would not reach Gatlinburg until mid-day Tuesday.

Jordan told the News Sentinel last week that a computer modeling program belonging to the Pigeon Forge Fire Department predicted flames invading the city on Tuesday at the earliest.

"I dismissed that and I think fire chief Miller did also," Jordan said at that time.

Miller said crews were proactive, prepared to hold the fire at the park boundary. Just after 6 p.m., the fire moved from Twin Creeks across the boundary along Cherokee Orchard Road to Park Vista and the Mynatt Park community, he said.

The fire chief said "over 200 firefighters from multiple agencies throughout the state" responded to his mutual aid requests to battle the flames.

With the number of structures destroyed, Waters was asked if the county would consider changing building codes.

"I think we will. We have the international building code and hillside regulations already in place," he said, adding that many buildings were in place prior to when the regulations were put in effect in 2007.

The number of people still in shelters Tuesday was down to 13 from a high of more than 2,000 on the night of Nov. 28 when the fire was at its height. The Red Cross Shelter at Rocky Top Sports World was moved to the meeting room at the Gatlinburg Community Center on Tuesday.

"We have a housing group that is trying to find housing for those people," Waters said.

No fires are currently burning in Gatlinburg, he said.

A temporarly landfill has been set up to contain all of the debris from the cleanup, near the current landfill on Ridge Road, according to Waters. It will be open from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, he said, although there may be an expansion of those weekend hours.

Officials continued to encourage visitors to come to Gatlinburg and talked of the heroic efforts and the coming together of the community.

"We've seen the form of the son of God all around us during this terrible time," Waters said.

TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan also spoke briefly at the news conference.

"The impact of this is felt throughout Tennessee and this nation," he said.

Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle and Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner also were on hand at the news conference.

Destroyed homes near the downtown area of Gatlinburg, Tenn., are shown Dec. 5, 2016. A week ago on Monday, hurricane-force winds whipped up fires that killed 14 people and damaged or destroyed almost 1,700 buildings in the Great Smoky Mountains tourist region.

Other developments:

  • Those on the team battling the Sevier County fires are tentatively scheduled to return home on Thursday. The South Atlantic Incident Management Team, composed of firefighters, emergency responders and officials from organizations across the country, will pass along efforts to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park team, who will continue to monitor the remains of the fires.
  • Gatlinburg and the surrounding communities hit hardest by the fires have received almost 3.5 inches of rain in the 12 days of December so far, according to the National Weather Service in Morristown. In contrast, the area received just 4.6 inches of rain in September, October and November combined.
  • By Monday night, the cost of fighting the Chimney Tops fire had exceeded $7 million — $7,128,166. The cost of the 764-acre Cobbly Nob fire was $339,070.
  • The Chimney Tops fire remains at 94 percent contained, and the Cobbly Nob fire is still 96 percent contained.
  • Two teenage boys, ages 15 and 17, have been arrested on charges of aggravated arson in the Sevier County fires. Sources familiar with the teenagers and the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly about the case say the two boys are friends and live in Anderson County. The boys were hiking on the Chimney Tops trail in the park on Nov. 23 and tossing lit matches onto the ground around the trail, the sources said. A hiker unwittingly captured an image of the boys walking away from the trail with smoke in the background, and the teenagers' clothing helped authorities identify them, according to sources.

More on the Sevier County wildfires: